Apparatus and methods for digital-to-analog conversion using modified LSB switching

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for converting a plurality of digital signals to an analog signal and m-bit digital-to-analog converter having an LSB current switch. A most significant m bits of an .[.m.]. .Iadd.n .Iaddend.bit digital signal are applied to m bits, respectively, of the m bit digital-to-analog converter, and successive values of the n bit digital signal are substituted at a first frequency. An interpolation signal is produced at the first frequency. A least significant n-m bits of the n bit digital signal are applied to the interpolation circuit to cause it to interpolate between successive values of the n bit digital signal. An LSB current switch distinct from the m bit digital-to-analog converter produces an output signal in response to the interpolation signal. An analog output signal produced by the m bit digital-to-analog converter is combined with the output signal produced by the LSB current switch to produce an analog output signal with n bit resolution. The least significant n-m bits are applied to the inputs of an n-m bit up/down counter. Causing it to count up or down from the digital value of the least significant n-m bits at a second frequency that is 2 n-m  times the first frequency to thereby produce the interpolation signal on a carry output of the up/down counter. The settling times of the analog output signal occurring at the first frequency are thereby limited to the settling times of the output signal of the LSB current switch.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a division of application Ser No. 891,785 filed July30, 1986, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,308, which is a division ofapplication Ser. No. 633,092 filed July 23, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No.4,621,254, which is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.630,977 filed July 16, 1984, claiming priority based on United Kingdompatent application Serial No. 8320534 filed July 29, 1983 entitled"Apparatus And Methods For Analogue-To-Digital And Digital-To-Analogueconversion".

The present invention relates to apparatus and methods foranalogue-to-digital (A-to-D) and digital-to-analogue (D-to-A)conversion.

The quantising accuracy of A-to-D and D-to-A converters is, in general,limited by the accuracy to which electronic components can bemanufactured or the speed at which electronic switches can operate. Theterm converter is used in this specification when a reference is made toeither type of converter.

A speed times accuracy product can be found which applies to each methodof conversion and provides a performance indicator. This indicator is ofmost importance in monolithic circuit versions of converters. Forexample, one method such as the `flash` technique of analogue-to-digitalconversion can produce a quantised output in a very short time and isprobably the fastest conversion method. The quantising accuracy is atthe moment, however, limited to at most 8 binary digits (bits) because apotential divider is required to generate reference voltages for the (2⁸-1) comparators required, and with present integrated circuit technologythe potential divider cannot be manufactured easily with an accuracy orstability greater than that needed for 8 bit conversion. Techniques suchas laser trimming or `zener zapping` can be used to trim the potentialdivider to greater accuracy, and this could extend the quantisingaccuracy to 12 bits, though at increased production cost.

The limiting factor with integrated circuit `flash` converters is thenumber of comparators which can be accommodated in a high-speedintegrated circuit within an economic die size, and this limits thequantising accuracy to about 10 bits at present. The maximum samplingfrequency of a `flash` 10 bit converter is in the region of 20 MHz,whereas the sampling frequency of a 1 bit converter can be as much as500 MHz. Converters with a quantising accuracy of 16 bits are at presentlimited to sampling frequencies in the region of 50 KHz.

This higher accuracy can be obtained by using inherently slow-speedconversion techniques (e.g. the dual-slope ramp-converter) which do notdepend on high accuracy resistor networks.

The practical constraints of integrated circuit technology thereforeenable low quantitising distortion (up to 16 bits) to be achieved but ata low sampling frequency. Alternatively, a very high sampling frequencycan be obtained if high quantising distortion (1 bit) is acceptable.

Oversampling is a well known technique for trading speed for accuracy,in which sampling is carried out at a frequency which is higher than theNyquist frequency.

The r.m.s. sinewave signal to r.m.s. quantising noise ratio in abandwidth f_(B) produced by an n bit A-to-D converter at a sampling rateof 2f_(B) is equal to (6n+1.8)dB. If the sampling frequency is greaterthan the Nyquist (2f_(B)) frequency, then the noise within the basebandup to f_(B) is reduced. Every time the sampling frequency is doubled thequantising noise power in the baseband up to f_(B) is reduced by 3 dB.It can be seen that a fourfold increase in sampling frequency isnecessary to reduce the baseband noise by 6 dB: equivalent to that givenby an analogue-to-digital converter of 1 bit greater accuracy, sampledat the Nyquist rate.

Another problem which occurs in A-to-D and D-to-A converters is that ofproviding equally spaced quantising levels. Due to component tolerancessuch converters usually have some degree of non-uniformity in thisrespect.

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is providedapparatus for digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-digital conversioncomprising

holding means for holding values of a signal to be converted to one at atime, successive values being substituted at a first frequency,

combining means for combining the output signal of the holding means,with an interpolation signal which is periodic at the first frequency ora multiple thereof,

a digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-digital converter, connected to theaddition means, and arranged to operate at a second frequency which is ptimes the first frequency where p is greater than one, the converterhaving a quantising interval d₁ which is no more than ##EQU1## times themagnitude of the change effected by the combining means on the outputsignal of the holding means in one period of the interpolation signal,and

averaging means for averaging the output of the converter.

The combining means may comprise addition means for adding theinterpolation signal to the output signal of the holding means, theinterpolation signal having a maximum excursion which is at least##EQU2## times the interval d₁. Since subtraction is the addition of anegative number, the word "addition" as used in the claims of thisspecification includes subtraction. Alternatively the combining meansmay comprise means for multiplying or dividing the output signal of theholding means by a multiplier or divisor which varies periodically atthe first frequency or a multiple thereof to provide the required changein magnitude.

An important advantage of the present invention as applied to binaryA-to-D converters is that where the converter used has an accuracy whensampling at the second frequency of, for example, n bits, the accuracyof the output obtained from the apparatus according to the invention is(m+n) bits where p equals 2^(m). In D-to-A conversion if the converterhas an accuracy of (n-m) bits when operating at the second frequencythere are more steps in its output signal per unit time than would beavailable by using an n bit converter at a necessarily slower rate. A"smoother" output analogue signal can be obtained by averaging aconverter output if the converter output has more output steps per unittime.

For optimum increase in signal to quantising noise ratio the saidmaximum excursion should be less than the quantising interval of theconverter. However the above-mentioned problem of non-uniformity inquantising levels can be lessened by employing a maximum excursion whichspans several quantising intervals. Such improvement is at the expenseof the speed times accuracy product since as the signal at the firstfrequency has a greater excursion, more time is required to cover thisexcursion and convert the signal so provided to a digital or an analogueoutput.

In some circumstances p need not equal a power of two since wherequantisation in the converter is not binary other integer (or evennon-integer) values of p may be found useful. Further, at the expense ofthe speed times accuracy product, the signal which is added by theaddition means may be periodic at a multiple of the first frequency.

When the apparatus is for binary A-to-D conversion, the holding meansmay comprise a sample-and-hold circuit operating at the first frequency.The combining means may add a sawtooth waveform having a repetitionfrequency equal to the first frequency and the combining means thenincludes a further sample-and-hold circuit operating at the secondfrequency for generating samples of the signals formed by addition forapplication to the converter. Alternatively the combining means may adda stepped waveform, having a repetition frequency equal to the firstfrequency and steps of duration equal to the period of the secondfrequency. Each step may have a magnitude equal to the said maximumexcursion of the periodic signal divided by the number of steptransitions. The averaging means may comprise an accumulator circuitarranged to be reset at the first frequency.

In D-to-A conversion the said quantising interval is the differencebetween the magnitudes of adjacent levels in the analogue output beforesignificant smoothing takes place.

Where the apparatus is a D-to-A converter, the holding means and theaddition means together may comprise an up/down counter which isarranged both to be reset at the first frequency to values of the outputfor conversion and to be incremented or decremented at the secondfrequency in each period of the first frequency.

The D-to-A converter may be capable of converting binary signals havingq bits where q is less than the number of bits in the output of theup/down counter, only the q most significant bits being passed from thecounter to the converter. The averaging means may be a low pass filterhaving a cut-off frequency at the top of the desired bandwidth foroutput signals.

According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provideda method of digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-digital conversioncomprising the steps of

holding values of a signal to be converted, one at a time andsubstituting successive values of the signal at a first frequency,

combining an interpolation signal which is periodic at the firstfrequency or a multiple thereof with each signal value held, to generatea resultant signal,

carrying out a digital-to-analogue or analogue-to-digital conversion oneach resultant signal at a second frequency which is p times the firstfrequency, the conversion being carried out using a quantising intervald₁ which is no more than ##EQU3## times the magnitude of the changeeffected in one period of the interpolation signal by combining theinterpolation signal with one of the signal values held, and

averaging the output from the converter.

A method and apparatus for converting a plurality of digital signals toan analog signal and m-bit digital-to-analog converter having an LSBcurrent switch. A most significant m bits of an m bit digital signal areapplied to m-bits, respectively, of the m bit digital-to-analogconverter, and successive values of the n bit digital signal aresubstituted at a first frequency. An interpolation signal is produced atthe first frequency. A least significant n-m bits of the n bit digitalsignal are applied to the interpolation circuit to cause it tointerpolate between successive values of the n bit digital signal. AnLSB current switch distinct from the m bit digital-to-analog converterproduces an output signal in response to the interpolation signal. Ananalog output signal produced by the m bit digital-to-analog converteris combined with the output signal produced by the LSB current switch toproduce an analog output signal with n bit resolution. The interpolationcircuit includes an n-m bit up/down counter. The least significant n-mbits are applied to the inputs thereof, causing the up/down counter tocount up or down from the digital value of the least significant n-mbits at a second frequency that is 2^(n-m) times the first frequency tothereby produce the interpolation signal on a carry output of theup/down counter. The settling times of the analog output signaloccurring at the first frequency are thereby limited to the settlingtimes of the output signal of the LSB current switch.

Certain embodiments of the invention will now be described by way ofexample with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of A-to-D conversion apparatus according tothe invention,

FIG. 2 shows an interpolation waveform for use in A-to-D conversion,

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the way in which averaging takes placein the circuit of FIG. 1,

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a D-to-A conversion apparatus according tothe invention,

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the effect of incrementing the up/downconverter of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a circuit which may be used as analternative to part of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 7 to 10 illustrate interpolation waveforms.

FIGS. 11 and 13 are block diagrams of modified arrangements, and

FIG. 12 shows interpolation waveforms using the arrangements of FIGS. 11and 13.

In the A to D converter apparatus of FIG. 1 an input waveform to bedigitized is applied to a terminal 10 and thence to a sample-and-holdcircuit 11 sampling at a frequency 2f_(B) where f_(B) is the inputbandwidth of the incoming signal. By means of an addition circuit 12 asignal from an interpolation waveform generator 13 is added to theoutput of the sample-and-hold circuit 11.

One form of interpolation waveform is shown in FIG. 2. It has a periodof 1/2f_(B) and decreases in step d₂ at the end of periods 1/f_(S). Thefrequency f_(S) is the frequency of conversion in an A-to-D converter15, and flyback to the initial magnitude of the interpolation waveformoccurs at the end of each period 1/(2f_(B)). The frequency f_(S) =2^(m)·2f_(B) and therefore there are 2^(m) -1 step transitions in theinterpolation waveform excluding flyback.

For binary conversion, the maximum excursion of the interpolationwaveform should, at least, equal a magnitude d₁.(2^(m) -1)/2^(m) whered₁ is the quantising interval of the converter 15. In the example shownthe maximum excursion is equal to d₁, and d₂ =d₁ /3 since there arethree step transitions in each cycle of the interpolation waveform(again excluding flyback).

The output of the A-to-D converter 15 contains 2^(m) samples for eachsample at the output of the circuit 11 and this increased number ofsamples is averaged by means of a resettable accumulator 16 which isreset at intervals of 1/2f_(B). As a result the output of theaccumulator 16 contains m+n bits. The accumulator adds together thevalues presented at its two inputs to produce a running sum. Each newinput is added to the previous sum provided by way of the feedback pathshown.

In order to give an (m=n) bit pcm parallel output while the accumulator16 is operating, it is connected to a parallel output channel 17 by wayof an output latch circuit 18 sampled at 2f_(B). The latch circuit holdsthe result produced by the accumulator 16 over a period 1/2f_(B) whenthe accumulator is reset and a new value is derived.

Another interpolation waveform which may be used is a sawtooth waveformhaving a maximum excursion of d₁ and an average d.c. value of zero. Afurther sample-and-hold circuit (not shown), sampling at 2^(m) ·2f_(B),is then connected between the addition circuit 12 and the converter 15.In view of the use of the further sample-and-hold circuit the maximumexcursion d₁ cannot be reduced to ##EQU4## as for the steppedinterpolation waveform. Either of the two previously mentioned waveformsmay be used when modified to have a d.c. value equal to ±d₁ /2, andeither may increase progressively with time, rather than decreasing.

A triangle waveform is another suitable interpolation waveform.

An input low-pass anti-aliasing filter (not shown) of bandwidth f_(B) isconnected at the input terminal 10 since a filter of this type is arequirement of all sampled systems.

An example of the operation of the apparatus of FIG. 1 is now given. InFIG. 3 one output level from the sample-and-hold circuit 11 over theperiod 1/2f_(B) is shown by a chain dotted line 20. The vertical axis isdivided according to decimal code corresponding to magnitude of inputlevel to the converter 15. Only a portion of the axis is shown over theinterval 99 to 103. In a conventional A-to-D converter the output codecorresponding to a given magnitude is given for any input amplitudewithin ±1/2 a quantising interval of that magnitude; for example anymagnitude in the interval 100.5 to 101.5, that is within the shaded areaof FIG. 3, receives the output code 101. Thus the level 20 correspondsto an output level 101 from the converter 15 but in fact the level couldbe said to be 100.67 (say). When the interpolation waveform is added theresultant is as shown by the continuous line 21 and the samples obtainedat the rate f_(S) are 101, 101, 101, 100 and when these samples areaveraged by the accumulator 16 the result 100.75 is provided and anincrease in accuracy of 2 bits is obtained. In this example since thereare (4-1) steps in the quantising signal 2^(m) =4 and m=2.

As has already been mentioned at present 16 bit converter operating at50 KHz and 10 bit converters operating at 20 MHz are, for example,obtainable. If 2f_(B) is 50 KHz then a 16 bit output can be obtainedwithout using the invention or oversampling using the first of theseconverters. By oversampling at 200 KHz (not using the invention) a 1 bitincrease in accuracy at 17 bits could be obtained if this were possible.On the other hand by using the invention with a 10 bit converter whichsamples at 20 MHz, m is between 8 and 9 and therefore the accuracy isn+m=18 or 19 bits.

An alternative way of combining the output of the sample-and-holdcircuit 11 with the output of the generator 13 is to replace theaddition circuit 12 of FIG. 1 with the circuit of FIG. 6 which employs amultiplier circuit 40, a divider circuit 41 and an addition circuit 42.The output V_(w) of the sample-and-hold circuit 11 and the output V_(i)of the interpolation waveform generator 13 are applied to terminals 43and 44, respectively. The divider circuit 41 provides an output V_(i)/V_(w) to which one is added by the circuit 42 which has unity input ata terminal 45. On multiplication by V_(w) in the multiplier 40, theoutput (V_(i) /V_(w) +1) of the circuit 42 is converted to V_(i) +V_(w)and appears at a terminal 46 for application to the A-D converter 15.

The divider circuit 41 may be formed, according to a known technique, bya multiplier using a negative feedback loop.

The D-to-A converter of FIG. 4 is now described. An up/down counter 25includes an n-bit input latch section 25A which receives an n bit pcmsignal by way of a parallel input channel 26. Up/down counter 25 alsoincludes an n-bit counter section 25B. The inputs of counter section 25Bsample the outputs of the latch section 25A at a sample rate 2f_(B) by asample signal 101. The sample rate is determined by sample signal 101having the frequency 2f_(b). The up/down counter section 25B is set bysignal 101 at intervals 1/2f_(B) to the current value of the n bit pcmand it is counted up by one bit at a frequency of 2^(m) ·2f_(B) so thatthere are 2^(m) times more samples in a given time at the output 103 ofthe counter 25 than at its input.

These samples are passed to an OR function circuit 27 at the rate 2^(m)·2f_(B) but only the n-m most significant bits are passed by conductors104 to the OR function OR circuit. The circuit 27 ensures that thereduced number of bits does not result in all zeros being passed on to aD-to-A converter 28 when as a result of counting up, the counter 25resets with all zeros. For this purpose the "carry" output of thecounter 25 is connected to an input of the OR function circuit 27. Thecircuit 27 comprises (n-m) OR gates each receiving one input from thecounter 25 and another input from the carry output from the counter 25.

The D-to-A converter 28 operates at the frequency 2^(m) ·2f_(B) inresponse to a conversion signal 105 and therefore has an output levelrate 2^(m) times greater than would be obtained by applying the input atthe channel 26 to a D-to-A converter operating at 2f_(B). The outputfrom the converter 28 is applied to a transversal filter 30 whichcarries out signal averaging which is equivalent to that of theaccumulator of FIG. 1. The transversal filter may have 2^(m) -1sections, each imparting a delay of ##EQU5## in series with the circuitinput signal, and the outputs of each section taken to a common summingcircuit whose output is sampled at 2f_(B). The tap coefficient for eachsumming-circuit input is unity. The output of such a filter, when usedin the circuit of FIG. 4, is the same as that produced by an ideal n-bitD-to-A converter. A smoothing filter 31 is connected at the output ofthe filter 30 to complete the process of removing quantisation noisecontained in the band above the frequency f_(B). Alternatively, a singlelow-pass filter with a high degree of attenuation above the frequencyf_(B) can be used to smooth the output of the D-to-A converter 28.

An example of the operation of FIG. 4 will now be given. Suppose threesamples of a 5-bit input signal are applied to channel 26 and the threesamples have values 10000, 10110 and 11001 as shown in FIG. 5 by thedashed line 33. The states taken up by the counter 25 are then as shownby the solid line 34 so that after truncation to provide an (n-m) inputfor the converter 28 the following samples are provided in the intervalin which the three original samples occurs:

100, 100, 100, 100, 101, 101, 110, 110, 110, 111, 111 and 111.

These signals are applied to the converter 28 and the resulting outputsignal has more changes per unit time than the original signal. Arelatively smooth analogue output is therefore obtained from the filter31. The outputs of the converter 28 are summed in groups of four (2^(m))by the transversal filter 30 to give 10000, 10110 and 11001 for thesamples mentioned above, and these are the values which a 5-bitconverter would have provided.

To contrast the invention with the prior art, if a 16 bit D-to-Aconverter is available, then without using the invention one of 2¹⁶output levels could be obtained at a rate of 50 KHz for smoothing.However, if a 10 bit converter which operates at 20 MHz is usedaccording to the invention, n-m=10 and m is between 8 and 9. Thus 2¹⁰possible output levels at a rate of 20 MHz are provided and aftersmoothly between 2¹⁸ and 2¹⁹ possible output levels are obtained at arate of 50 KHz.

The up/down counter 23 may be connected to count down during each periodof 1/2f_(B), but a d.c. offset then occurs in the output signal. This isunimportant for conversion of audio signals and can be removed, ifrequired, by the use of a coupling capacitor.

USE OF (2^(n-m) +r) LEVEL A to D AND D to A CONVERTERS

One feature of this conversion technique, is that a small loss of inputdynamic range occurs when a 2^(n-m) level converter is employed in thesystem. Ideally, an n bit converter should provide outputs whichcorrespond to 2^(n) different levels; with this system, some of theselevels are lost because the 2^(n-m) level dynamic range must be usedpartly for the interpolation signal and partly for the main signal. Ifone l.s.b. of interpolation is used, then the number of levels which themain signal can excurse is (2^(n-m) -1). This loss of range may beunimportant when, for example, n-m=16. In an integrated circuitimplementation of this system, it would be advantageous to use a(2^(m-n) +r) level converter, where r is small and equals the number ofl.s.b's of interpolation used. This is preferable to using a 2^(m-n+1)level converter as (a) much less silicon area is needed, and (b) fastereffective operation of the converter becomes possible by making use ofthe much reduced one l.s.b. conversion time as explained under increasedperformance using improved l.s.b. conversion times. It is instrumentallyeasier to achieve fast one l.s.b. conversion times in a r levelconverter where the r levels change one at a time than in a conventionalbinary converter (particularly for D to A conversion).

For example, a (2^(m-n) +1) level flash A to D could be produced byadding only one extra comparator and a 2^(m-n) +1 level binary weightedcurrent D to A could be produced by adding an extra one l.s.b. currentsource. The r level part of the converter would be controlled separatelyfrom the 2^(m-n) level part. In the D to A application this separatecontrol would reduce the amplitude of switching transients.

A conventional binary D and A is not optimum for obtaining minimum onel.s.b. conversion time as the worst case figure must be used and due tothe m.s.b. switching transient, this occurs at the one l.s.b. codechange of 01111 . . . to 1000 . . . , (a full scale conversion timewould be measured with a code change of 0000 . . . to 1111 . . . ). Withconventional binary D/A converters, major bit transistors such as 01111to 10000 can occur with an effective one l.s.b. change in signal level.The switching transients which correspond to these changes are atamplitudes near the m.s.b. level rather than the l.s.b. level. The extrar levels change only one l.s.b. at a time and any switching transientsintroduced are always smaller than those due to m.s.b. transitions.Additional control logic will be required in order to select the r levelportion of the D/A converter. Many arrangements are possible, dependingon the value of r, but in its simplest form, the carry output of thecounter 25 can be used to select the extra l.s.b. when r=1.

SIMPLIFICATION OF D to A DIGITAL CIRCUITRY

Simplification of the counter circuit is also possible when a 2^(m-n) +1level D to A is used: instead of an n-bit counter, an n-m bit latch plusan m-bit counter can be used. The n-m most significant bits of the inputword would go straight to the (n-m) binary input portion of the D/A. Them least significant bits of the n-bit input words would preset an m-bitup-counter, and the carry output of this counter would control thel.s.b. portion of the D/A. This approach can be extended to cover the rlevel case and offers a saving in logic circuitry and the possibility offaster circuit operation.

IMPROVING THE FIGURE OF MERIT OF DIGITAL TO ANALOGUE CONVERTERS BY USINGINTERPOLATION

Indexing terms: digital to analogue conversion, interpolation Aninterpolative scheme is described which enables increased resolution tobe obtained by utilizing the potentially fast settling time of one leastsignificant bit (LSB) change in a digital to analogue converter (DAC).Results of experimental measurements indicate close to theoreticalimprovement is achievable in practice. The use of the arrangement in anintegrated circuit design is likely to offer significant advantages interms of lower production and testing costs than a conventional DAC ofequivalent performance.

There is reported preliminary results of work aimed at improving theperformance of an interpolative DAC. Interpolation achieves increasedresolution from a DAC by alternately switching its output betweenadjacent levels. Time averaging of the DAC output using appropriatefiltering can enable additional levels to be resolved between the DACoutput levels and this has been likened to a process of linearinterpolation. Previous work reported in this area has been aimed mainlyat the development of integrated circuit codecs for speech transmissionusing companded pulse-code modulation. Maximum conversion speed andscope of this approach was limited by a need for relatively complexdigital circuitry and a special purpose DAC which converted on alevel-at-a-time basis. In contrast with this earlier work, this letterdescribes as an arrangement which offers the promise of much higherconversion speeds and a wider field of application because very simpledigital circuitry is used and the arrangement works with conventionalDAC designs.

The definition of figure of merit of an analogue to digital converter asused in the specification is the resolution in bits multiplied byconversion frequency. For a digital to analogue converter the figure ofmerit is the product of its resolution in bits and the inverse of itsfull-scale settling time (bits×Hertz). Linear interpolation can bethought of as trading a reduction in effective conversion speed (Hertz)for an increase in effective resolution (bits), with no alternation inthe figure of merit. The theoretical rate of exchange being therefore aone bit increase for every octave of speed reduction.

Whilst this exchange rate can be an attractive proposition for manyapplications, there are of course some in which the consequent increasein full-scale conversion time would be unacceptable. An arrangement isproposed which should enable a very much better rate of exchange to beobtained, resulting in an increase in the figure of merit.

Experiment: FIG. 11 shows the experimental arrangement. The digitalcircuitry required consists simply of a presettable up/down counter 60.In the experiment a commercially available 16 bit DAC 62 was used toexamine the practical limits of the technique. The test signal sourcewas a low distortion digital sinewave generator 64 which produced datawords at a rate of 50,000 per second.

Experimental measurements were first made using only the eight mostsignificant bits of the DAC in order to minimise the influence of DAClinearity errors and switching transients. This was followed bymeasurements using sinewave data which generated an output waveform ofpeak amplitude -40 dB relative to maximum available from the DAC, andcentred on the mid scale point of the DAC. In this last test, all 16data inputs of the DAC were used. Signal to quantising noise ratios weremeasured using a total harmonic distortion analyzer.

Results: A computer program was written which used signal-flow graphtheory to predict the likely improvement in baseband signal toquantising noise ratio and the amplitude-frequency distribution of thequantising noise. This analysis predicted a baseband improvement of 4.26dB with interpolation waveform 1 shown in FIG. 12, 5.80 dB with waveform2 in FIG. 12 and 5.99 dB with waveform 3 in FIG. 12 after the waveformswere low-pass filtered. Each of these waveforms has an average value ofone half an LSB and in theory the use of an integrate and dump filter atthe DAC output would enable the ideal figure of 6 dB improvement to beobtained with any of the waveforms. Practical measurements using theeight most significant bits of the DAC and a 20 kHz low-pass filter witha stop-band attenuation of better than 96 dB, gave signal to quantisingnoise ratio improvements of (a) 4.2 dB, (b) 5.8 dB, (c) 5.85 dB forwaveforms 1, 2 and 3 respectively, showing very close agreement with thepredicted values.

In the -40 dB test, signal to quantising noise ratios significantlyworse than theoretical were obtained and investigations revealed thatthis was due primarily to switching transients (glitches) occuring whendata inputs changed. The output data rate of the counter can be up toeight times more than its input rate and therefore the repetitionfrequency of the DAC transients can be up to 400 kHz. The importance ofusing a track-hold to remove such glitches is well recognised,particularly with DACs intended for digital audio.

In higher speed applications, this requirement for a fast track-hold maybe undesirable as the design of such a device can present significantproblems.

Figure of merit improvement: The minimum time between the n bit inputwords (conversion time) in the interpolative arrangement of FIG. 11 issimply the full scale settling time plus the time required for thesequence of LSB changes needed to produce the interpolation waveform.With most conventional DACs, the worst case LSB setting time iscomparable with the full scale settling time owing to glitches whichoccur at input code changes. In practice, therefore, a figure of meritis calculated using a conversion time based on the full scale settlingfigure. The 2^(m) +1 level DAC arrangement of FIG. 13, together with asimplified up/down counter system is suggested as a way of increasingthe figure of merit available by using interpolation.

In FIG. 13, reference numeral 80 designates a small N-bitdigital-to-analog converter which produces an analog output current onconductor 84. Conductor 83 is a ground conductor. Reference numeral 81designates a conventional m-bit digital-to-analog converter. Its mostsignificant bit (MSB) current source 86 and its corresponding mostsignificant bit (MSB) switch 88 are schematically illustrated. MSB bitswitch 88 is operated in response to the MSB bit of an n-bit binaryinput word to conductor 90. Similarly, the least significant bit of then-bit word is applied to conductor 91 to control the LSB bit switch 89,which couples an LSB current source 87 to a current summation conductor92, which is connected to output conductor 84.

Reference numeral 82 designates an "additional" LSB bit circuit that canbe substantially identical to the LSB bit circuit including currentsource 87 and bit switch 89. Additional LSB circuit 82 includes bitswitch 96, which is controlled in response to an interpolation waveformapplied to conductor 97 from the output of the n-m stage presettableup/down counter mentioned below to switch an additional LSB currentsource 95 into conductor 98 so that that additional LSB current oroutput signal is combined with the outut signal produced on conductor 92of m-bit DAC 81. In the proposed system, the m most significant bits ofthe n bit word are presented to the m bit conventional section of theDAC for the duration of the conversion period. The n-m least significantbits are loaded into an n-m stage presettable up/down counter and withthe use of appropriate control signals the carry output of the counterprovides the waveform to control the interpolation stage of the DAC.Glitches are now no worse a problem than with a conventional DAC as theinterpolation stage is inherently glitch free. The settling time for theinterpolation stage should therefore be very much less than the LSBsettling time for the conventional section of the DAC. This shouldreduce the total conversion time required significantly, with acorresponding increase in the figure of merit. Ideally the interpolationstage should be matched to the LSB stage of the conventional part of theDAC and therefore the proposed arrangement is likely to be of most usein an integrated circuit. The reduced complexity of the counter shouldfacilitate faster operation at the integrated circuit level and reducethe area of silicon required.

Very good agreement has been obtained between theoretical predictions ofsignal to quantising noise ratios produced by an interpolative decoderand experimental measurements. Code-dependent switching transients havebeen found to be a major limitation to the application of interpolativetechniques to high speed digital to analogue conversion. In the light ofthis work a modified LSB switching arrangement has been proposed whichwould eliminate the switching transient problem at the LSB level. Owingto the much reduced LSB setting time, it would enable far betterresolution to be obtained for a given full scale settling figure thanpreviously reported interpolative arrangements. It is likely that thearea of silicon required for the proposed interpolative DAC will be muchless than for a conventional DAC with an equivalent resolution andfull-scale settling time. In the limit, it is in principle possible touse an extremely fast low-resolution DAC to suit a wide range oflower-speed higher-resolution applications. An added advantage is thathigh-resolution conventional DACs ideally require time consuminglevel-at-a-time tests in order to fully characterise their performance.Because of this, full testing of high-resolution DACs in a productionenvironment can be uneconomic. As the analogue section of aninterpolative DAC is ideally of low resolution, full testing of this canbe accomplished in a relatively short time and as the time required totest the remaining digital circuitry is insignificant it should proveeconomic to undertake full testing of interpolative DAC integratedcircuits on a routine basis.

INCREASED PERFORMANCE USING IMPROVED L.S.B. CONVERSION TIMES

Most practical D to A and A to D converters are able to convert a signalchange of one l.s.b. amplitude in less time than a signal change of fullscale amplitude. All previous estimates of the improvements availableusing the method described in the patent specification have been basedon only full scale conversion times as this is the conventional measureof conversion speed.

If the full scale conversion time is T_(L) and the time available forconversion is T_(C) (═1/2f_(S)) then the improvement in resolution wouldbe log 2(T_(C) /T_(L)) bits.

By making use of the fact that the one l.s.b. conversion time is alwaysless than the full scale conversion time, a further improvement inresolution can be obtained. In order to calculate this improvement,assume T_(C) =2^(m) ·T_(L), T_(L) =2^(K) ·T_(S), and T_(C) =2^(m+K)·T_(S), where T_(S) is the one l.s.b. conversion time.

The first conversion must be able to cope with up to a full scale changeand therefore the time remaining for l.s.b. conversions is T_(C) -T_(L).An improvement of q bits more than can be obtained with just using T_(L)is shown by the following equations. ##EQU6##

One conclusion which can be deduced from this equation is that if m islarge, then it is possible to increase the resolution by up to K bits,giving a total improvement of almost m+K bits. In a given application itmay be beneficial to increase the linearity of the converter at theexpense of some of the m+K bits improvement in resolution.

INTERPOLATION WAVE FORM AMPLITUDE

The following information has been obtained on the amplitude of theinterpolation wave form from the generator 13 in FIG. 1. Thisinformation has been obtained as a result of simulations with a 5 bitideal quantizer. Neglecting the effect of over load:

    ______________________________________                                        iw*    Ideal interpolation wareform amplitude/step size                       iw.sub.(3dB)                                                                         Waveform range that gives ± 3dB SNR of the                                 maximum.                                                               iw.sub.(3dB/Oct)                                                                     Waveform range that gives better than 3dB/Octave                              improvement.                                                           ______________________________________                                    

Approximate amplitude ranges as a function of M=oversampling factor.##EQU7##

These results are illustrated in FIGS. 7-10.

Now that embodiments of the invention have been described, it will beclear that the invention can be put into practice in many other ways.For a further increase in accuracy or better smoothing the presentinvention may be combined with the previously mentioned known apparatusand methods of oversampling.

An application of the improvement in resolution can be obtained bymaking use of a system which combines a fast one l.s.b. conversion witha conventional full scale conversion. The improvement available can beseen by way of the following example:

Using the prior art of oversampling, an 8 bit A to D converter with afull scale conversion time of 100 ns can be used to provide a 12 bitresolution conversion by averaging 256 successive full scaleconversions, giving a total conversion time of 25,600 ns.

With the technique described above with reference to FIG. 1, 12 bitresolution could be obtained from the same A to D by using 32 successivefull scale conversions, giving a total conversion time of 3,200 ns. Inan A to D converter system which provides for both conversion of fullscale signals and successive signals which are different in amplitude byonly one l.s.b., two types of A to D converters are usually required. Inthis case, a one l.s.b. conversion may typically be completed in onetenth of the time for a full scale conversion. By making use of thisfaster one l.s.b. conversion in the present example, 12 bit resolutioncould be obtained by making one full scale 8 bit conversion (in 100 ns)followed by 31 successive one l.s.b. conversions (each taking 10 ns).The total conversion time is now reduced to 410 ns demonstrating asignificant improvement in conversion speed over both prior art and theprevious specification. If, instead of reducing the conversion time, theaim were to obtain the maximum resolution for a given conversion time(e.g., 25,600 ns), then this comparison would give the followingresults: using prior art oversampling techniques, 12 bits; using thetechnique in the circuit described above with reference to FIG. 1, 16bits; using the technique described in the foregoing paragraph, 19 bits.

I claim:
 1. A method for converting a plurality of digital signals to ananalog signal, the method comprising the steps of:(a) applying a mostsignificant m bits of an n-bit digital signal to be converted, to mbits, respectively, of an m-bit digital-to-analog converter having anLSB current switch circuit, and substituting successive values of then-bit digital signal at a first frequency; (b) applying a leastsignificant n-m bits of the n-bit digital signal to an interpolationcircuit to produce an interpolation signal of the first frequency; (c)applying the interpolation signal to an input of .[.an LSB.]. .Iadd.a.Iaddend.current switch circuit .Iadd.responsive to the interpolationsignal .Iaddend.additional to the LSB current switch circuit of them-bit digital-to-analog converter; and (d) combining an analog outputsignal produced by the m-bit digital-to-analog converter with an outputsignal produced by the .[.LSB.]. current switch circuit .Iadd.responsiveto the interpolation signal .Iaddend.to produce an analog output signalwith n-bit resolution.
 2. The method of claim 1 further including .[.thestep of.]. filtering the analog output signal.
 3. The method of claim 1wherein step (b) includes applying the least significant n-m bits to ann-m bit up/down counter and operating the up/down counter to count up ordown from the digital value of the least significant n-m bits at asecond frequency that is 2^(n-m) times the first frequency to therebyproduce the interpolation signal on a carry output of the up/downcounter, to thereby limit settling times of the analog output signaloccurring at the first frequency to the settling times of the outputsignal of the .[.LSB.]. current switch circuit .Iadd.responsive to theinterpolation signal. .Iaddend.
 4. A digital-to-analog conversion devicecomprising in combination:(a) an m-bit digital-to-analog converterhaving an LSB current switch; (b) means for applying a most significantm bits of an n-bit digital signal to be converted, to m bits,respectively, of the m-bit digital-to-analog converter, successivevalues of the n-bit digital signal being substituted at a firstfrequency; (c) interpolation circuit means for producing aninterpolation signal having the first frequency; (d) means for applyinga least significant n-m bits of the n-bit digital signal to theinterpolation circuit means to cause the interpolation circuit means tointerpolate between successive values of the n-bit digital signal; (e).[.an LSB.]. .Iadd.a .Iaddend.current switch circuit means.Iadd.responsive to the interpolation signal .Iaddend.distinct from them-bit digital-to-analog converter, for producing an output signal inresponse to the interpolation signal; and (f) means for combining ananalog output signal produced by the m-bit digital-to-analog converterwith the output signal produced by the .[.LSB.]. current switch circuitmeans .Iadd.responsive to the interpolation signal .Iaddend.to producean analog output signal with n-bit resolution.
 5. The digital-to-analogconversion device of claim 4 wherein the interpolation circuit meansincludes an up/down counter and means for applying the least significantn-m bits to inputs of the n-m bit up/down counter and means foroperating the up/down counter to count up or down from the digital valueof the least significant n-m bits at a second frequency that is 2^(n-m)times the first frequency to thereby produce the interpolation signal ona carry output of the up/down counter, to thereby limit settling timesof the analog output signal occurring at the first frequency to thesettling times of the output signal of the .[.LSB.]. current switch.Iadd.circuit means responsive to the interpolation signal. .Iaddend.